Video Summary
Minimalist tutoring makes a lot of sense to me. The students go to the writing center to get help with their writing. The goal of the tutors there is to get the students to write on their own. To facilitate this they have them start writing as soon as they get there. If student has specific questions they answer them but in a way that encourages learning. They will not give the student the answer but help them find it out for themselves. If the student gets stuck, the tutors will ask them probing question in an attempt to stimulate the student’s ideas. The idea is to get the student to write the paper themselves. This way they do not get Dependant on the tutors but eventually don’t need them anymore. Most of what the tutors do is encourage the students to think that they are capable of writing. Low self efficacy is the biggest problem that they deal with. The students also need help getting their ideas on paper in a cohesive manner. Sometimes they have read the material but don’t have a starting place. These students often times just need a little push in the right direction. These tutors are doing the same things for these students that my parents did for me. Minimalist tutoring seems to be a great way to help students learn to write proficiently.
Bryan Norbut
20 comments:
I think that minimalist tutoring is a really great idea. I have been to the writing center before and they definitely won't just give you the answer, which is what I was hoping they would do. It is better to make the student think for themselves because then it is truly their work.
I think minimalist tutoring is great and that is what the SIUC writing center does. Instead of giving you the answers, they help you build on your ideas, which is important in writing as well as the real world. I sometimes have a problem with clarity because I know what I am saying and I just assume my audience does as well, so the minimalist tutoring has helped me grow was a writer.
It's just like the old saying, "give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for the rest of his life." Sure, a student might get an A on a paper if they go to a tutor who simply "gives" him/her the "answer" for lack of better terms. But then what happens when, on his/her next paper, he/she doesn't have time to make it to the writing center? The student is certain to benefit much more from learning how to do the work properly.
I agree that minimalist tutoring is the way to go. Many students just want the easy way out since they do not have good writing skills and these programs allow the students to improve their skills.
I also think minimalist tutoring is the best way to go, esp for writing... If a tutor helps out any differently the paper is taken from the student and put into the tutors words!--- I don't think minimalist tutoring would be good for science or math though... I may have never learned anything!
I totally agree with this! Minimalist tutoring is a great way to help people learn how to write and have the positive reinforcement to be confident about their writing. I think that having the writing center available is a good idea because so many students come from different backgrounds and different teachers, so having this resource available is a very positive way to ensure good writers.
I think that minimalist tutoring is a very good idea. It's really hard as a tutor to help someone without "giving" them all the answers. Even though tutors mean well...they aren't really helping the student, because the student will never be able to do it alone.
I guess that this is a decent theory for tutoring. My only concern is not everyone can do a lot of thinking on their own. I know a lot of people who go to the writing center that struggle and go there for help and the non-stop probing doesn't really give the student the assistance that they need. Sometimes students need the answers to be laid out in front of them in order to stimulate and provoke understanding.
Minimalist teaching is a great way to inspire students to write on their own. If tutors just corrected your work then you would not learn why it was incorrect or how to avoid the same mistakes in the future. The goal is to teach the students to think for themselves and work on their individual problem solving skills.
Minimalist teaching is a great way to inspire students to write on their own. If tutors just corrected your work then you would not learn why it was incorrect or how to avoid the same mistakes in the future. The goal is to teach the students to think for themselves and work on their individual problem solving skills.
I think if you tutor correctly, a tutor should teach themselves "out of the job." Regina E.
I agree with the fact that minimalist tutoring is good. I wouldn't want students relying on a tutor to do everything for them, because then they would never learn anything. I like how the SIUC writing center does things because they force the student to think for themselves and to work out their own problems, with a little help of course. It teaches students to learn on their own and to learn from their mistakes. We are in college now so we don't need people giving us the answers to our problems any more. I like the principles behind minimalist tutoring and I believe that it works for many students.
I agree with the minimalist tutoring. Students always look for an easy way out. This way students will learn from their experience and learn problem solving as well.
Amanda YAtes
I agree with minimalist tutoring. The tutor should not do anything more than assist the student with their writing. If the tutor assists the student to much then the tutor is doing what the student should be learning to do for themselves.
I agree with minimalist tutoring as well. This type of tutoring is effective and corresponds with the constructivist approach of teaching.
Minimalist tutoring is the only way to go. When I helped tutor in high school I soon realized that my peers would often rely on me to get them started, produce ideas, and ultimately write their paper. I learned that I would have to make them write a rough draft first no matter how awful they might think it to be. Once they had that we worked with and developed their own ideas.
I agree, I think it's important for the people being tutored to learn to write on their own, there won't always be someone there to help them.
I do not like minimalist tutoring when it comes to English or grammar. Grammar is something that you either no or you don't, otherwise it is like looking at a calculus problem without having had any training. Often, people speak how they write. If a person does not speak well, then there writing and grammar skill swill suffer. Another thing is that minimalist tutoring may help and probably is the only route to take when helping students with papers; because anything else would be plagiarism or cheating. So I think when it comes to tutoring English papers and helping students get their thoughts together then students are forced to learn by minimalist tutoring rather than by choice. However, it does not help with grammar because students have to either be familiar with rules of grammar or not.
Minimalist tutoring is a great way of helping someone in a way in which they will be able to help themselves later as well. This actually teaches them something, rather than just helping them pass. It all goes back to Socrates! :-)
I thought this was interesting. I think that the writing center does this. Its a smart idea that works very well, they dont just simply correct what you are doing. I think that this is the best way to do it.
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